Prior art of the activation of pyrotechnic restraint arrangement in a vehicle is defined by the detection of a high impulse transfer to the passenger cell as a result of a collision with another traffic participant, a moving or a stationary obstacle. Depending on the restraint arrangement used, the time-optimized activation thereof may serve to gently reduce the movements of the occupants relative to the passenger cell resulting from the impulse transfer and therefore minimize the risk of injury.
In principle, a differentiation may be made between time-critical and time-uncritical restraint arrangements. While conventional front and side airbags may only offer protection for a very limited time after activation thereof, restraint such as pyrotechnic belt tighteners and cold curtain airbags may present a protective effect for a considerably longer period of time, even up to several minutes as the case may be.
In addition, reversible protective mechanisms such as e.g. electromotive belt retractors may be incorporated into the integrated protective mechanism in spite of their relatively lengthy activation times.